Do AP Courses Truly Prepare Students For College?

Do AP courses truly prepare students for college? A question that’s been asked by the majority of students and their parents. I’ve also wondered this question, as a freshman looking to take advanced courses the following year. After three years of AP courses, and 10 completed classes, I can wholeheartedly affirm that AP courses are truly beneficial in preparing students for their journey through college.

So first off, which courses did I do? Well, to answer that, I did the following:

I found that all my courses either provided me better insight into the field, or preparation for future courses. I did a mix of both STEM and humanities, which helped me discover my stronger and weaker skills making me a more well rounded individual who is now fighting through engineering. These courses also taught me how to write, and how to think critically under the pressure of the ticking clock. Most importantly, the ideas of these subjects do come back in college courses, like now in Calculus 1, AP Calculus BC was exactly the same which makes me stand out in Calculus 1. So to answer the question, yes, AP courses do prepare students for college.

Ultimately, AP courses aren’t for everyone. They are challenging, I almost find them to be more challenging than college courses. But that sentiment might be from the years of preparation I had through AP courses.